BOSTON -- Jonny Gomes saw plenty of Grady Sizemore across the field when Gomes was breaking in with Tampa Bay and Sizemore was going to All-Star Games with the Cleveland Indians in the mid-2000s.

BOSTON -- Jonny Gomes saw plenty of Grady Sizemore across the field when Gomes was breaking in with Tampa Bay and Sizemore was going to All-Star Games with the Cleveland Indians in the mid-2000s.

"That guy, in his heyday, he was one of the big pieces that kicked off the 30-30 center-fielder guy," Gomes said before the Boston baseball writers' dinner on Thursday. "Now that's almost expected, which is tough. You look at the (Andrew) McCutchens, the (Mike) Trouts, the Curtis Grandersons. For my time, it was Grady."

Gomes has spent the winter working out at the same facility in Arizona where Sizemore has been working his way back to health. A three-time All-Star with the Indians, Sizemore saw his career derailed by a variety of knee and back injuries after his third straight top-12 Most Valuable Player finish in 2008. He underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee in 2010 and the same procedure on his right knee in 2012. He last played in a major-league game in 2011.

The Red Sox announced Wednesday night that they'd signed Sizemore to a one-year contract. He'll earn a $750,000 base salary and could earn up to $6 million if he meets incentives based mostly on playing time.

What Sizemore still has to offer, no one really knows. But he offers the Red Sox intriguing upside for relatively little risk -- and the Red Sox can offer him a situation where he can compete for a job in center field.

"We were trying to present an opportunity to him," Boston general manager Ben Cherington said. "We were trying to present a program and a group of people that he's had relationships with. He's had a relationship with John (Farrell) and Torey Lovullo in Cleveland. There were relationships in place, and we were trying to present a program that we thought would give him the best chance to come back and play. I think that's what he was attracted to, more than anything."

If Sizemore can't get himself healthy enough to contribute, the Red Sox have made clear they're comfortable starting rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. in center field. If Sizemore can get himself healthy enough to contribute, he can do things on a baseball field that few can do.

"Everyone here knows who he was when he was in his prime, in that peak period he had with Cleveland," Cherington said. "That player fits on any team -- including ours, certainly. What we need to learn from spring training -- and what he needs to learn -- is getting back into everyday baseball. That will tell us what makes sense for him and for us. But we're not going to put any limitation on it. We see a lot of potential there."